Thank you once again for the reviews. I've really appreciated the comments and the discussion around characters, it is so much fun seeing them grow as the canon divergence grows.

I apologise in advance that in this chapter, neither Damon nor Elena are their best selves; both giving in to some pretty childish behaviour.

x-x-x-x

There was very little ice cream left in the tub, the majority of it melted. Nevertheless, he was able to fill a spoon and feed it to Elena as they looked out over the quarry.

"Why here?" She asked him softly.

Damon had been prepared for the question. Afterall, he had brought her here on Bree's advice. He'd never had the desire to share beyond the bare basics of his history before, but he'd already told her half a dozen stories that nobody else was privy to. Her perspective was also so different from his own, seeing the good in the choices he had made. Elena would be able to see the good in anyone, he reasoned.

She saw him as her hero, though. That idea had him flabbergasted. He'd been idealised before, it was a perk of looking the way he did, but never by someone like her- an opinion he valued. He wasn't sure when her opinion had started to hold importance for him, he should probably ask Bree- she seemed to know such things before he did.

Then, they had kissed. He hadn't been rejected, she'd shown him a side he hadn't seen before, one full of desire and sin. It was the best kiss of his very, very long life.

He's been able to express only a small fraction of his desire for her so far; smiling to himself, he thought of exactly how he would express the rest later. First though, he was taking Bree's advice and opening up.

If this went south, he would be kicking her out.

"This is where I completed my transition. We woke up, we both woke up here after we died. I already had this ever-stylish accessory." He waved his hand in front of her, showing off his Lapis Lazuli ring. "Emily had found us, brought us there. I'd see the church burn, I believed Katherine to be dead."

Elena looked up at him, her eyes filled with pain, he hoped it was due to her ridiculous level of empathy and not because she felt he was about to declare his love for Katherine.

He continued, "I didn't want to complete the transition. I thought without her, eternity wasn't worth living." Elena reached for and squeezed his hand, but didn't continue to speak. "Stefan turned- I discovered later that he had fed off our father- and brought a girl to me. He caused her to bleed, and I gave into the temptation."

"Without you, he didn't think eternity was worth living." Elena whispered. Of course, she would see it that way.

They sat in silence for a while. "Did you ever forgive Stefan?" Elena asked him.

He considered his answer. Had he? Not really, but not for turning him. He'd never forgiven him for trapping her in there, for being the cause of her being captured. Now he knew the truth, could he forgive his brother?

He shook his head, "No, but I should now. Hell, I should thank him." Elena looked at him quizzically, so he continued, "He left Mystic Falls. If he'd have stayed, you would have fought for him back. You;d have seen the good in him. Instead, he left and trusted me to leave too."

"Why didn't you leave?" She asked. Of course, Elena would pick up on the fact that he hadn't followed through on his promise to his brother. At least he had a good reason, and not just because he was being a dick like usual.

"I was, I was on my way out of town when I popped by Mystic Falls High to have a quick word with your favourite witchy friend. Then I spotted Logan Fell to deal with and, well, you know the rest." He summarised.

"So Stefan doesn't know you're still here?" She asked.

Would she be annoyed? Would she even be here with him if he'd called Stefan back, revealing he was still here. "No. Would you like me to call him? I'm sure he'd be happy to return." He knew his tone was colder than he desired.

He expected the heartbreaking request to come, but instead she placed a light kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Everyone I want in my life is already in Mystic Falls."

Now that was an opening. "Do we all have to stay there, or are you open to excursions?" He reached into his jacket and pulled out the tickets, handing them to her.

"AC/DC?" Her eyes lit up.

"Yep, in New York. One of my favourite cities. If you like it, maybe we could look at living there when you're done with school."

x-x-x-x

Time stood still and she froze.

Had he meant to just suggest that?

She was still reeling from the fact she had kissed him. Not just once either, but they'd practically had a frenzied make-out session. If it weren't for the fact that she'd suddenly thought of the melting ice-cream they might have even gone further.

She'd kissed him, and she had no idea what it meant. Would they have the talk and define it, did she want to?

She'd kissed him, she hadn't even had time to decide why, and suddenly he was discussing moving in together in New York. That is what he's said, isn't it?

She'd kissed him, and then he'd reminded her of all the reasons she didn't want to kiss him. Sure, she'd love to see New York. When she saw the concert tickets she was thrilled. Hell, she might even want to live there- but Damon had assumed they would. That they could. He would always assume it would be forever, and did she want that? She hadn't even finished high school!

"Have you gone utterly insane?" Words fell out of her mouth before she had the chance to really think them through. "You want me to move to New York?"

Damon frowned, then she felt his muscles tense. He didn't handle confrontation well. "I'll go alone, if you feel that way." He was pulling away from her, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to let him. His icy blue eyes gave her her answer.

"That's not what I said, Damon. I'd love to go to the concert with you, I love the gift and I was really thrilled. I'm not sure, though about planning our future out." She could see Damon gulp, the cogs turning in his mind. Damon was all or nothing, she'd sensed that- he had been utterly and completely devoted to Katherine until suddenly he wasn't anymore.

She'd kissed him, and now he was all in. She was his everything.

How could she have been so stupid?

The man in front of her may have committed a thousand sins, but he also protected, cared, and loved. She's seen that in how he had watched her when she had been under threat from Noah. She'd watched him with Bree, how he'd been basically acting as a personal bodyguard for her ensuring none of the drunk patrons got handsy. Her one doubt had been how he had treated Stefan, but now she even understood that.

The man in front of her deserved love, and she didn't know if she could offer him that. Maybe not now and certainly not for eternity.

He stayed silent, she continued. "I've not finished high school, I have no idea what I want for my future. Until recently, I always thought I would live in Mystic Falls forever- go to the local college. Maybe take on my Dad's practice, be on the town council and plan the events. Hell, if you'd have asked me two hours ago I'd have probably said something similar- I'd have just moved the college to somewhere in a big city, somewhere I could explore."

She knew she'd said the wrong thing as the words were spilling out because she could feel him stiffening, moving away from her only fractionally but she could feel it.

She had to explain, make him see it wasn't about who he was but about what he was.

"Damon, Damon look at me." She tried to move his face with her hands but he wouldn't move. She just had to speak to him and hope he really heard her. "If I could pick the kind of man I would want to spend my life with, it would be a man like you. Someone who protects, who loves fiercely and passionately. Someone with darkness within them, but who doesn't let it overwhelm them. Someone who is trusting and caring and soft. That is the kind of man I'd want to settle down with, raise a family with, you're everything a girl could dream for."

x-x-x-x

Bree was wrong, the girl couldn't read him like a book. Or she could, but she was being deliberately vindictive and cruel.

She wanted a man just like him, but not him?

Dreaming of staying in Mystic Falls and raising a family, she must have never had any interest in him- or Stefan for that matter- beyond the darkness and mystery of dating a vampire.

He didn't believe for a second that this imaginary man she wanted was an ounce like him- he'd never settle in a town and raise a family, even if it were a biological possibility. There was too much evil in this world, and he enjoyed travelling too much. But then, he did enjoy her more. Especially that kiss.

She was still speaking though, talking about families and children and her desire for such an ordinary human life. He's zoned out of the details the moment she'd made it clear she didn't want him. He knew exactly what she wanted,

"So fuck off, go marry Tyler Lockwood and make babies with him. He's bound to be mayor some day, I'm sure the mayor and the town doctor would have a lovely home and throw some extraordinary founder events. Fuck off and live that pathetic, boring life, Elena. Go make him fall in love with you and stick your legs in the air for him."

She stared at him. The flames flickered in her eyes as if there was a bonfire just behind him, her anger was that raw. "Give me the car keys." She demanded, arm open.

The faster she was out of his sight the better.

He handed her the keys and stood to watch as she drove his Camaro out of sight.

He was going to fucking kill Bree.

x-x-x-x

Tuesday was the first day of interviews for the Miss Mystic Falls competition. Elena had arrived early, having barely slept the night before. She was pissed, he'd stepped over the line. She knew he was just lashing out as she'd hurt him, but he'd been wrong in the first place. WHo on earth started talking about the future after one kiss? Maybe it was a vampire thing.

Either way, she was fuming. Bumping into Tyler in the hall between classes hadn't helped. She's gone bright red, and now he probably thought she had some kind of crush on him. That was all she needed.

The questions in the panel were predictable at least, asking how she contributed to the community. ELena had had to admit she hadn't really contributed much at all recently, it had been her Mum that always signed her up for the events and it wasn't until the panel asked the question that she really took stock of how much she'd missed.

"I know I've missed a lot of opportunities in the past year, it has been a really difficult year for me. Reflecting on that, I know how important the community was to my mother and how much she would have wished to see me value our town and support every event." The panel had all nodded sympathetically, and a twinge of guilt pulled at Elena. Had she just pulled the sympathy card unintentionally? Caroline would kill her if she heard about it.

Thinking of Caroline reminded her that she was pissed at Damon. Damon had hurt Caroline. He was her ex's brother, her best friend's ex, over a century older than her, and they'd only had one kiss. The bastard has no right to plan her future.

"I see my future in this town. I'd like to go to Med school, re-open my Dad's clinic. My past, present and future lie in Mystic Falls and I endeavour to spend my time making it an enjoyable place for us all to live."

Finally, they had reached the end of the panel and she had one last question to answer, this one she knew the answer too. The idea had been brewing in her mind since the night before. She would have to choose a partner for the formal dance section. She had been planning on asking Damon, which would have been simultaneously a good choice as he was a founding family member and a bad choice as many would judge him to be far too old for her. She had debated it for days before deciding to ask him- she didn't really want to win anyway and there was no-one else she'd rather spend the time with.

Now that wasn't an option, but there was a perfect solution. "I'd like to request Tyler Lockwood as my escort."

x-x-x-x

He strolled up to the Gilbert house and knocked on the front door. He'd left it until well after Elena should have left for school and usually the house would be empty but it was always more polite to knock first to check. His Camaro was parked out front, and he hoped Elena had left the keys inside.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, the house was not unoccupied at this time as shortly after he'd knocked the door had swung open to reveal the recently revived John Gilbert. Damon's week just kept getting better.

"What an unpleasant surprise," John greeted him.

"The feeling goes both ways. I don't suppose you would just toss me my car keys so I can make a quick getaway and we can both avoid trying to kill each other." Hopefully there was a way out of this hell. He knew he should really be using the opportunity to discover why the GIlbert uncle hadn't immediately outed him to the council. However, right now he didn't care much and just wanted his car back.

John snorted at him, actually snorted. The time for pleasantries was over. Damon sped past him, pushing him aside as he entered the house. At vampiric speed he searched the house, in vain, for his keys. Dammit, either Elena had hidden them or she'd taken them with her to school. His mind went to calling her a bitch, but he stopped himself. He wasn't sure he really blamed her. He had known she wouldn't want him but had kissed her anyway, hell he'd practically got down on one knee with his stupid comment about New York. He hadn't even thought about it before he'd said it, his tongue just ran away with him around her.

About to exit the house and walk himself to the Grill to sulk, he groaned as his eyes caught sight of John standing in front of the door dangling the keys from his finger. "Looking for these?" Dammit, he was either going to have to kill the guy, go back to the city apartment where he'd left his spares, or let a locksmith touch his baby. Killing the miserable git sounded like the most entertaining idea, but a pang of guilt twisted his guts before he could do it.

"What do you want in exchange?" He questioned. Everything was always a deal.

"A little birdie told me you might be able to locate something for me, a Gilbert artifact. It was stolen from him by one of the vampires in the tomb, one he held great affection for." Damon let the cogs turn, trying to anticipate John's move. He held the vampire compass that Logan Fell has used, successfully navigating to his death. Was there another device they didn't know about? Would it be another method for detecting vampires, or something worse?

He did know which vampire John was speaking about, but she had been the one vampire to escape the fiery fate of the others in that tomb.

"That had to be worth more than one shitty, old car." Downplaying his beautiful baby almost hurt physically, but he was in bargaining mode now; his brain distracted from the emotional turmoil and focusing on being a step ahead in the game. "What else do I get?"

"You get my continued silence. I won't tell every person in this godforsaken town what you are."

So, that was the plan. Whatever this device was, it was worth something to John GIlbert. Which meant it was a good idea for Damon to find it and discover its secrets before John could.

"You've got a deal, now give me my damn keys."

x-x-x-x

Caroline was fresh-eyed as she sat in front of the panel, her winning smile set upon her face and hands demurely in her lap. This was her time to shine.

This year would be the best year to win, after all this was the 150th anniversary. She couldn't wait to go down in the town's history books.

"I'm on the Mystic Falls beautification committee, I volunteer at the rec centre's soup kitchen. I implemented this year's GoGreen campaign at school, worked with the county recycling programme and I was in charge of the policeman's yearly raffle."

She paused for breath only after completing her list.

Then they asked her the killer question, "Why do you want to be Miss Mystic Falls?"

"I love our town, it has a spectacular history and the fact that the founding families still play such an integral role at the centre of town life shows how much each generation has valued that history and the legacy that has been left to them. I endeavour to carry that into the future, to carry the torch of our shared history to the next generation. I support so many town events because I feel educating the next generation about our town's history and values is essential in seeing those values continue. I love Mystic Falls, and every person who calls this town home."

Leaving the room, she felt she could finally breathe. It was over. They'd even happily taken her suggestion for her court partner- a Lockwood-Fell boy who was home from college. She'd chatted to him at Duke's party and he'd agreed over text; his own mother was forcing him to attend. Combining the power of Lockwood, Fell and Forbes should give her a good standing on the voting panel. He'd also been a good dancer at the occasional town ball.

That was important; she had to perfect the dance.

Meeting Bonnie and Elena outside the room, she hugged them both. Even Elena wanted her to win- she was participating for her mother's memory more than desire to be crowned. Caroline just hoped she didn't have to compete with the sympathy vote- even if that made her a horrible person.

x-x-x-x

Small town bars were always good for day drinking, you were guaranteed to never be alone. Taking his usual seat, he turned to his left to greet his new drinking 'buddy'.

"Did I buy that one too?" Alaric only smirked at him and took a big sip. Dick. It was a good job Damon didn't actually care about the size of the bar tab.

Bree was unfortunately working.

"I'm assuming from the fact that you didn't come home last night, this is a celebratory drink?" She queried. Yep, this week could go fuck itself. He responded by tossing her his wallet.

"I want to drink all of whatever that much will buy. Then I might be willing to tell you how fucking stupid your idea was." Bree's eyes widened, apparently his ineptitude had actually shocked the witch. He wasn't sure why- he messed up everything good in his life and she knew that better than anyone- given she pretty much was the only positive he'd managed in 150 years.

After receiving his drink he sat silently. When Alaric tried to start a conversation he was pretty sure he actually growled. He would have to deal with getting hold of the desired Gilbert device soon, but first he was getting black-out drunk until he didn't remember the past 24 hours. He wasn't even sure that was possible for a vampire, but he was willing to try.

A few bottles of God knows what later, he was having to focus to stay on his stool.

"You!" He slurred, pointing a few inches to the left of Bree. "This is all your fault!"

"Damon," the witch responded calmly, "I can't help unless you explain what happened."

"She happened. She just, she happened. When the hell did she happen?" Bree just looked at him quizzically, but how could he explain it better? Elena had happened, she had been there and he had been kissing her and the world's axes had tilted.

"She happened, Bree, and now the world is all sideways and nothing makes sense anymore." It was about this point that he noticed he was so far off his stool that he was basically resting on Alaric's shoulder.

"You better not be speaking about my girlfriend's niece." He warned, his tone menacing.

A fight! That's what he needed, a bit of anger and a bit of blood always made him forget about a girl.

x-x-x-x

Tonight was supposed to be family night, but with Uncle John in the house (could she even call him that anymore?) they had decided to move the event to the grill. Both her and Jeremy were more than happy with that prospect, as it meant not having to tolerate Jenna's cooking or invest time persuading her to get takeout.

The downside of the grill was that they were almost certainly going to bump into Damon, especially as he would undoubtedly be sat next to Alaric. Despite seemingly hating each other, the pair had a drink with each other almost every night. Elena knew that it was because Damon appreciated people who had the guts to stand up to him, especially if they also came with humour and a good taste in Bourbon. Alaric just probably needed a friend, one he could discuss what really went bump in the night with- even if that friend happened to be one of the creatures making the bumps.

She'd hidden behind her hair as she came in, telling herself to keep her eyes down as she went straight to a booth not in direct line of sight of the bar. For good measure, she sat with her back facing that direction. The less temptation the better. She was still blazing mad, but she was worried that one look into those eyes might melt her. It wouldn't be the first time she'd forgiven Damon when she hadn't intended to.

Jenna would be a while yet, she was on her way back from campus, so she flicked through Jeremy's sketchbook- asking him questions about some of his drawings. Some were macabre, but some were outstandingly beautiful. He's even sketched one of her and Damon asleep on top of her bed, her head resting on his chest. She didn't have it within her to feel violated by the invasion of privacy- the picture was so beautiful that she just stared at it.

"You ok, 'Lena?' He asked, softly. She nodded, though she wasn't certain of her answer.

Alaric appeared to greet them. After casual pleasantries, he added, "Elena. Any chance you could help me out at the bar?"

She didn't want to, Damon would be there. But he wouldn't be asking if he didn't need her. Sighing slightly, she lifted herself out of her seat.

What she saw amused her, Damon appeared to have fallen asleep sat at the bar, his face in a pool of spilled drinks.

"Erm, is he okay?" She asked tentatively.

Bree raised an eyebrow at him. "He'll recover. We had to put him on a little time out. We were hoping you could tell us why?"

Elena felt instantly guilty. He was hurting, hurting enough that Alaric and Bree were worried. It wasn't her fault though, she reminded herself of that. He was the one who'd put his foot in it- and he'd suggested she sleep with Tyler!

"We had a bit of an argument." She shrugged. She didn't particularly feel like going into detail around her aunt's boyfriend.

"Oh sweetheart." Bree looked at her sympathetically, "I'm sure he did something stupid, and I know you won't want to tell us. However, he's going to wake up soon and the more we know the less likely he is to eat half my customers."

Elena swallowed, hard. Would Damon do such a thing? She didn't think he'd fed from a human since he'd discovered about Katherine- he'd mentioned sticking to blood bags even though it was causing him a headache with the council. Surely he wouldn't change that habit just because they'd argued.

Surely he knew she would eventually forgive him?

She just wasn't sure if he would forgive her, especially if she didn't want the future he had apparently envisioned.

"He commented about us moving to New York after high school. It was.." She paused, how could she describe how the idea simultaneously excited her and scared the living shit out of her? "He was just too much."

She wrapped her arms around herself and nervously picked at her top. She hadn't even discussed this with Bonnie or Caroline yet- unsure of how to tell them about that kiss, never mind the subsequent events. Now she was having to open up to his friends.

"He did what!?" Alaric spoke louder than intended and caused the healing vampire to stir.

Elena mouthed she was going to go before slinking back to her booth. There was no way she was ready to face Damon.

x-x-x-x

"Welcome back sleepy head." The sound of Alaric's dulcet sounds were not what he was hoping to open his eyes to.

"You snapped my neck?" He queried, mostly impressed by the hunter's strength- he'd definitely been drunk enough for him to have the edge in a fight but snapping a neck require a bit of force.

"Unfortunately not, you have Bree to thank for your time out. When you swung for me, missed, and face-planted she thought you might appreciate a little nap to sober you out."

Damon grimaced, giving Bree a sideways glance that could melt lead. "I preferred being wasted."

Bree didn't flinch at his reaction, standing her ground to him she called him out. "Is that because Elena didn't want to run away with you, or because you're too much of a coward to admit you love her?"

Damon just sneered then turned to walk to her table. He was too much of a coward, but as neither Bree nor Alaric possessed vampiric hearing they wouldn't know that straight away.

Arriving at the booth he trained his eyes on Jeremy and Jeremy alone, refusing to let himself even look in the direction of the girl. He wouldn't even think of her name. If he did, he knew he'd be putty in her hands and he couldn't take another rejection. Not his week, anyway. He had business to do.

"Can you still get in touch with your inappropriately aged ex-girlfriend?" He quipped, antagonising the boy but adding a playful grin.

"I can shoot Anna a text, yeah, if you promise to stop dating inappropriately aged women yourself." Damn, he'd walked into that one and he was pretty sure his face had flickered with pain before he could set it into a grin and roll his eyes melodramatically. He wanted to turn to see Elena's reaction but he didn't dare- she'd see straight through him and the fact he was handling been in the same room as her without burning the place down was quite frankly a miracle.

Hopefully, Jeremy wasn't as perceptive as his sister. Sister? Cousin? Sister.

"Can you tell her I need to talk? She knows where to find me." Focusing on the plan he was able to keep his voice steady. Soon he'd be able to get back to drinking.

Jeremy's grin was an honest one, filled with hope as he nodded. The poor boy would have his heart ripped out if he wasn't careful. There was never any other ending.

x-x-x-x

He'd ignored her.

Now he was awake and presumably reasonably sober, he'd chosen to walk right up to their booth and flat out ignore her.

Jeremy had laughed when he'd gone, "Elena, your face is an absolute picture. Have you two had a lover's quarrel?"

Her brother was almost as much of a dick as Damon. What was worse, was she was pretty sure Damon had laughed when Jeremy said it, the distinctive sound mixing with the noise in the grill, loud enough that she could hear it carrying from the bar.

Well, two could play that game.

Marching over to the pool table, she asked Matt if she could have the next game, playing the winner. As he agreed, she popped to the ladies. Tying her hair up, applying some lipstick and pulling her top down, she smiled in the mirror.

Matt had been playing Tyler, and Tyler always won those games.

When she went back out, she was ready to begin. Leaning over the pool table she asked, "Tyler, do you think my shot is lined up?"

She didn't need the help, but as he came to look he would get the full view down her top. Tyler always looked, and she hoped Damon could hear his heartbeat quicken in response.

A few shots later, she needed help adjusting her stance, allowing Tyler to stand behind her and position her queue. She could practically hear the growl rumbling from the bar.

The game was a close loss for her, but she didn't care. Before she returned to the table (Jenna had just arrived and she was looking forward to some food), she made sure to remind Tyler about the upcoming competition, "Don't forget Tyler, we have rehearsal tomorrow for the Founder's court. We get to dance together at the event this weekend."

This time she didn't have to strain her ears to hear him, his glass shattered and she watched as he stormed out the grill.

Returning to her booth, both Alaric and Jenna were glaring at her.

Dammit, she was about to get a lecture.